Open AccessAge-disparate partnerships and HSV-2 among adolescent girls and young women in South Africa: implications for HIV infection risk
Author(s) -
Brendan Maughan-Brown,
Gavin George,
Sean Beckett,
Meredith Evans,
Lara Lewis,
Cherie Cawood,
David Khanyile,
Ayesha B. M. Kharsany
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
sexually transmitted infections
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.893
H-Index - 98
eISSN - 1472-3263
pISSN - 1368-4973
DOI - 10.1136/sextrans-2018-053577
Subject(s) - medicine , demography , poisson regression , incidence (geometry) , young adult , risk factor , immunology , gerontology , population , environmental health , optics , physics , sociology
There is an urgent need to understand high HIV-infection rates among young women in sub-Saharan Africa. While age-disparate partnerships have been characterised with high-risk sexual behaviours, the mechanisms through which these partnerships may increase HIV-risk are not fully understood. This study assessed the association between age-disparate partnerships and herpes simplex virus type-2 (HSV-2) infection, a factor known to increase HIV-infection risk.